Karl Richard Ruoff (18 August 1883 – 30 March 1967) was a general in the

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He commanded the

4th Panzer Army The 4th Panzer Army (), operating as Panzer Group 4 () from its formation on 15 February 1941 to 1 January 1942, was a German panzer formation during World War II. As a key armoured component of the Wehrmacht, the army took part in the crucial ...

and the 17th Army on the Eastern Front.

Life

After Ruoff graduated from Gymnasium in Heilbronn,

Kingdom of Württemberg The Kingdom of Württemberg ( ) was a German state that existed from 1806 to 1918, located within the area that is now Baden-Württemberg. The kingdom was a continuation of the Electorate of Württemberg, which existed from 1803 to 1806. Geogr ...

, he joined the 10th Württemberg Infantry Regiment No. 180 of the Württemberg Army in Tübingen as a flag cadet on 15 April 1903. He was promoted to 2nd lieutenant on 18 August 1904 with patent from 19 August 1903, was battalion adjutant in 1910 and, as a first lieutenant (since 18 August 1912), was appointed to regimental adjutant in February 1913. With the outbreak of the First World War, Ruoff was promoted to captain on 28 November 1914 and was used several times as a company commander. During the course of the war he was adjutant of the 51st Reserve Infantry Brigade and assigned to the general staff of the 26th Reserve Division. For his achievements, Ruoff was awarded both classes of the Iron Cross, the Knight's Cross of the Order of Military Merit, the Knight's Cross 1st Class of the Order of Frederick and the Wounded Badge in Black.

World War II

Ruoff took command of V Army Corps on 1 May 1939, and led this unit into World War II. He also concurrently commanded V Wehrkreis in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. Ruoff then was given command of the

from 8 January 1942 to 31 May 1942. The 4th Panzer Army was part of

Army Group A Army Group A () was the name of three distinct army groups of the ''German Army (1935–1945), Heer'', the ground forces of the ''Wehrmacht'', during World War II. The first Army Group A, previously known as "Army Group South", was active from Oct ...

which was formed when

Army Group South Army Group South () was the name of one of three German Army Groups during World War II. It was first used in the 1939 September Campaign, along with Army Group North to invade Poland. In the invasion of Poland, Army Group South was led by Ge ...

was split into two formations for the summer offensive of 1942. Ruoff commanded the 17th Army from 1 June 1942 to 24 June 1943. The 17th Army was also part of Army Group A. Ruoff was the commander of the 17th Army when, on 3 June 1942, the Italian Expeditionary Corps in Russia (CSIR) was briefly subordinated to it. From June to July, the German 17th Army, the CSIR, and the Romanian 3rd Army were organized as "Army Group Ruoff". By July 1942, Ruoff lost the Italian unit. The CSIR was subsumed by the larger Italian Army in Russia (''Armata Italiana in Russia'', or ARMIR) and transferred to

Army Group B Army Group B () was the name of four distinct German Army Group, army group commands that saw action during World War II. The first Army Group B was created on 12 October 1939 (from the former Army Group North) and fought in the Battle of France ...

(''Heeresgruppe B''). During the late summer, as part of Army Group A, Ruoff and the 17th Army attacked towards the Caucasus oilfields. By December, Soviet forces had destroyed the armies defending its flanks (including the ARMIR) and had en-circled the German 6th Army at

Stalingrad Volgograd,. geographical renaming, formerly Tsaritsyn. (1589–1925) and Stalingrad. (1925–1961), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Volgograd Oblast, Russia. The city lies on the western bank of the Volga, covering an area o ...

. Army Group B was withdrawn from southern Russia but Ruoff and the 17th Army were ordered to hold the " Kuban bridgehead." In June 1943, he was moved to the command reserve, and saw no further action during the war. Serious allegations of

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

were levied against the 17th Army under Ruoff's command in the 1943 Krasnodar Trial conducted by the military tribunal of the Soviet North Caucasian Front. However, post-war, the Soviet Union did not seek Ruoff's extradition.

Command history

* General Officer Commanding,

, Eastern Front - 1942 * General Officer Commanding, 17th Army, Eastern Front - 1942 to 1943

Awards and decorations

Iron Cross The Iron Cross (, , abbreviated EK) was a military decoration in the Kingdom of Prussia, the German Empire (1871–1918), and Nazi Germany (1933–1945). The design, a black cross pattée with a white or silver outline, was derived from the in ...

(1914) * Knight's Cross of the Military Merit Order (Württemberg) * Knight's Cross, First Class of the

Friedrich Order The Friedrich Order ( or ''Friedrichsorden'') was an order of merit of the German Kingdom of Württemberg. It was instituted on 1 January 1830 by the second king of Württemberg, Wilhelm I in remembrance of his father, King Friedrich I. In 1918, ...

(Württemberg) * Repetition Clasp 1939 to the Iron Cross 1914, 2nd and 1st Class * Winter Battle in the East 1941–42 Medal *

Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross The Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross (), or simply the Knight's Cross (), and its variants, were the highest awards in the military and paramilitary forces of Nazi Germany during World War II. While it was order of precedence, lower in preceden ...

on 30 June 1941 as

General der Infanterie General of the infantry is a military rank of a General officer in the infantry and refers to: * General of the Infantry (Austria) * General of the Infantry (Bulgaria) * General of the Infantry (Germany) ('), a rank of a general in the German Impe ...

and commander of V. Armeekorps

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ruoff, Richard 1883 births 1967 deaths People from Hohenlohe (district) German Army personnel of World War I Military personnel of the Kingdom of Württemberg Reichswehr personnel German Army generals of World War II Colonel generals of the German Army (Wehrmacht) Recipients of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross Recipients of the clasp to the Iron Cross, 1st class Military personnel from Baden-Württemberg